To understand pet food purchasing trends, the giant Latin American e-commerce platform Mercado Libre recently undertook an analysis to determine online consumer preferences in some markets, such as Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, México, and Uruguay. This is because the pet food category has shown vigorous growth throughout the region.

According to press sources, 45% of the demand for pet food in Latin America comes from millennials. Furthermore, in the past months, the number of consumers that purchased pet food online increased noticeably.

In terms of packaging sizes, preferences vary across countries. For instance, Uruguayan consumers prefer larger packaging sizes of 8 kilos. In Argentina, the best-selling packaging size is 6.5 kilos. Chilean buyers, on the other hand, prefer smaller package sizes, between 1 and 2 kilos; yet they make more frequent purchases.

Mexican Black Friday revealed consumer preferences

A few years ago, Mexico launched “El Buen Fin” (the Good Weekend), which occurs in November every year. According to press sources, Mercado Libre’s overall online sales skyrocketed by 90% year over year, with nearly 140 transactions per minute.

During the sale, the site received 32 million visits, with 85% of visitors purchasing items – and pet food products were the sixth best-selling category for the weekend.

It is worth mentioning that recently, Mercado Libre upgraded the site’s functionality. For example, it made improvements in payment methods, deliveries, returns and the overall buying experience.

Seasonal sales boost online purchases of pet food

Seasonal sales such as Buen Fin are revealing some preferences of local consumers and their likelihood to purchase pet food online. In this regard, consumers are reacting favorably to such take-it-or-leave-it deals, as only two years ago, such performance was unlikely.

As online retailers use newer market information to better understand consumer drivers, online pet food sales will have better prospects.